DIY: Live the Life You Love with a Career Map The job market has been HOT the last year or so and yet many people feel edgy, like we are living in uncertain times. Maybe it's the summer heat or the crazy politics in Washington. who knows! Whatever the reason, there is one thing you can do NOW to take charge and feel confident about your future. Build your own career map. Let's begin with two simple truths... 1) Only You Can Own Your Career. No one can do it for you, nor should … [Read more...]
Joseph Campbell once said, “A hero is someone who has given his or her life to something bigger than oneself.” Reading a quote like that takes me to a mythical place, somewhere lofty, and expansive, where I wonder what it would be like to make a BIG difference to an entire company, country or all of humanity. And then my email dings, and I snap back into the present and I start to think about a different kind of heroics. The kind I hear about with certain types of clients … [Read more...]
What would you do if you had 200,000 more dollars to spend this year? I know what I would do. I’d buy that little house we saw in Mexico last week - the one with the rooftop Jacuzzi. And, I’m pretty sure that’s not just the tequila talking. $200,000 is one of those funny amounts. It’s not BIG money; most people couldn’t retire on it. And maybe it’s not a lot when you are talking rooftop Jacuzzi. But, it’s A LOT of money in just about any other circumstance! And … [Read more...]
It’s been 3 years since I started Positive Disruption and in that time there’s been a lot of reinvention. Like reinvention from my cushy corporate life to the nail-biting that can sometimes come along with starting up a business. There’s been any number of iterations on what is it that I really do, or don’t do – are you a consultant or a trainer, do you do coaching, or what? Finally, in the last year it became crystal clear to me: I am at my best helping client teams navigate the … [Read more...]

Last week, a dozen Santas full of Christmas “cheer” cruised down my street on skateboards shouting about elves! By this time of year in Portland, several Santacons have already taken place and the Christmas ships are about to finish their run. I guess you could say we love a holiday spectacle. As many of us approach holiday visits, which can be spectacles in their own right, I am reminded of a friend who recently said she doesn't go home for the holidays because “I like my family too … [Read more...]

It rained in Portland recently. I’m sure that comes as no big surprise to those of you who live here or have heard that it rains in Portland all the time. The truth is – it doesn’t rain all the time. In fact, it only rains about 154 days a year (I looked it up). The thing is, when summer starts on the 4th of July, it often doesn’t rain much for a while and this summer was a particularly dry one. So for two months this summer, we all pretended like we were living in California. … [Read more...]
Our new Consulting Director, Paul Spencer, will be publishing several articles on employee engagement. These articles will provide a wealth of insight into the value of employee engagement, what you can do to create and sustain engagement in your team, and the multiplier effect of engagement in a variety of industries. Here's the first one in the series. You can find out more about Paul on our "Our Resume" page, and you can contact him at paul.spencer@positivedisruption.com. It's All About … [Read more...]

You know the feeling. Your project is teetering on the edge of disaster. A run of setbacks has the team struggling to stay on track, and you've just found out that the equipment you need for the next phase will be six weeks late. What happens now? Your career is defined by how well your team performs. You need a highly engaged team that can succeed no matter what challenges they face. We believe in creating a culture where great performance happens every day. A culture where your … [Read more...]
What comes to mind when you think about leadership and creativity? Both topics have been on my mind a lot lately as I prepare for an upcoming workshop I am conducting. While leadership and creativity are very common attributes, I used to think of them as having very separate identities – like good steak and polka dot sprinkles, they are both good, they just don't go together. Or do they? Can you be a good leader and not very creative? Probably not. What about very creative and a poor … [Read more...]
It's early in another new year. The holidays are behind us and many of are trying to get back in the groove, wondering what's up. Why am I here? What did I leave undone? How can I make this year different, better, less stressful, more fun than last year? The answer: write your own manifesto, your rules to live by for this year and possibly the rest of your life. You can do it solo as a personal expression of who you want to be or as part of a partnership, family, work, community or other … [Read more...]